University of Arizona
Drake Relays
UA 4x400 Relay Teams Advance To Finals At Drake Relays
04/25/2015 | Track and Field
Des Moines, Iowa – The University of Arizona Wildcat men's and women's track and field teams began competition at the Drake Relays today. Arizona sent a small group of student-athletes to the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Also, Arizona sent a group of throwers to compete at the Triton Invitational in San Diego, Calif. The Triton Invitational began on Friday as well but all of the UA student-athletes compete on Saturday.
The women's 4x400-meter relay team posted a season-best time of 3:38.91. Freshman Tatum Waggoner, junior Gia Trevisan, freshman Diana Gajda and junior Nnenya Hailey took seventh place in the preliminary, earning a spot in the final. The final will take place on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. MST.
Arizona's quartet of junior Blake Eichler, senior Pete Lauderdale II, sophomore Bryce Houston and sophomore Miles Parish clocked a time of 3:08.30. That time was good for seventh place overall in the preliminary round and earned them a spot in the final on Saturday at 1:52 p.m. MST.
The quartet of Gray, Waggoner, Gajda and sophomore Rachel Johns clocked a time of 1:37.78 in the 4x200-meter relay. They took first place in heat one and third place overall. Houston, freshman Tyrell Johnson, Eichler, Lauderdale earned a runner-up finish overall in the men's 4x200-meter relay with a time of 1:23.94. The 4x200-meter relay school record is 1:21.10 on the men's side, set in 1984. The women's 4x200-meter relay school record is 1:35.05 and it was set in 1984 as well.
Junior Morgan Struble posted a season-best time of 59.31 in the 400-meter hurdles. That time was good for fifth place overall in the competition. Struble's time is No. 7 in the conference on the year and 21st in the west region, safely in the top 48 to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminaries.
UA alumnus Nick Ross took 3rd place in the men's high jump “Beijing WC Preview” section at the Drake Relays. He had a clearance of 7-4.5 (2.26m) on the day.
The women's 4x100-meter relay team of sophomore Jasper Gray, Waggoner, junior Traci-Lynn Hicks and sophomore Rachel Johns clocked a time of 46.10. They finished in 10th place overall in the preliminary round and did not advance to the final.
The quartet of sophomore Bryce Houston, freshman Tyrell Johnson, junior Blake Eichler and freshman Ty Brandt originally clocked a time of 41.45. However, the official results showed that they were disqualified.
Hicks ran the 100-meter hurdles preliminary race in a time of 14.63 (-2.0 wind); she did not make the final.
A complete recap and results will be available at ArizonaWildcats.com after each day of competition. Also follow @ArizonaTrack on Twitter for live updates from the meet.
